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SERVICE

Regular Events Sundays: Morning Service – 9.30am (Sunday Club during Service) Mondays: Monday Club – 3.00pm - 4.15pm The Guild – 7.30pm (alternate Mondays, September-April) Tuesdays: Craft Group – 2.00pm – 4.00pm (alternate weeks in the Hall) Highland Dancing – 4.00pm – 5.00pm Kirk Session – 7.00pm (alternate months on 2nd Tuesday) Congregational Board – 7.30pm (alternate months on 2nd Tuesday) Singing Group – 7.30pm, Hall Wednesdays: Mums Tea & Toast – 9.00am - 10.00am Coffee Morning – 10.00am - 12noon Short Service in Church – 11.30am (1st & 3rd Wednesdays),

Heritage Society – 7pm, (every third Wednesday, September-May) Thursdays: Study Group – 10.30am Bandrum Service – 2.00pm (every 2nd week at Bandrum) Highland Dancing – 6.30pm-8.00pm (Session Room) Brownies – 6.30pm-8.00pm, Hall

March - May Events Sunday 1st March to Sunday 29th March – Lent Bible Study "Les Miserables", 6.30pm, The Manse, Tulliallan and Kincardine Parish. Thursday 5th March to Thursday 2nd April – Lent Bible Study "Les Miserables", 10.30am to 12.00pm, Session Room, Saline Church. Sunday 6th March – Traidcraft Stall, 10.30am, Saline Church Hall. Fairtrade goods on sale. Friday 6th March – World Day of Prayer Service, 7.00pm, Oakley Parish Church. Joint service with Carnock and Oakley Parish churches

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and Church of the Holy Name, Oakley. This year the service is compiled by a group of Christian women from Zimbabwe. Wednesday 9th March – Traidcraft Stall, 10.00am to 12 noon, Saline Church Hall. Fairtrade goods on sale. Sunday 15th March – 'Sing, Sign and Celebrate' Service, 2.30pm, St Andrew's Erskine Church, Dunfermline. Service which enfolds those with Learning Disabilities and Special Needs. Contact Rev Elizabeth Fisk (01383 730039) for information. Wednesday 18th March – Saline Heritage Society, 7.00pm tea/coffee & blether. 7.30pm talk in the Church Hall. “Quite Happy” – the Diary of James Fyffe, Cattle Dealer 1836-1840 by Professor Richard Oram. Members £1/ non-members £2. All very welcome. Sunday 19th April – 'Sing, Sign and Celebrate' Service, 2.30pm, St. Leonard's Church, Dunfermline. Service which enfold those with Learning Disabilities and Special Needs. Friday 24th April — Family Beetle Drive, 7.00pm, Saline Church Hall. Wednesday 13th May – Christian Aid Day, 10.00am to 2.00pm, Saline Church Hall. Refreshments

(including soup from 12 noon) and various stalls. Donations in cash or kind will be very welcome. Saturday 23rd May – Family Fun Day, time tbc, Saline Church Hall and Grounds.

Holy Week Services

Sunday 5th April – Palm Sunday Service, 6.30pm, Oakley Church. Wednesday 8th April – Reflection Service, 7.00pm, Saline Church. Thursday 9th April – Communion, 7.00pm, Culross Church. Friday 10th April – Walk of Witness to Culross, short meditation at 3.00pm, Culross Church. Friday 10th April – Tenebrae, 7.00pm, Kincardine Church. Sunday 12th April – Easter Sunday Service and Breakfast, 9.30am, Saline Church.

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Some Words from

the Manse

It will be five years or so before I retire and I dread the thought of having to fit the quart of books and furniture and all the accumulated clutter of 20 years of ministry into the pint pot of whatever house we end up calling our home. Of course some people live tidy lives. I don’t. I am incredibly untidy and my office is remarkably chaotic. Piles of books and papers everywhere. I can spend five minutes looking for something that I had in my hand twenty minutes ago. “How do you work in this mess?” people, mostly my mother when she visits, occasionally ask. “It is not a mess,” I tell them. “It is a wilderness of free association.” But in truth it is a mess and when I occasionally do

tidy it up I work much more efficiently and effectively for a while. But pretty soon it gets cluttered and untidy again, no matter how much I tell myself I will do better. This very same office in which I am now sitting was once the office of my mentor and a predecessor of mine as minister of Tulliallan Church, Rev Jock Stein. He is the most organised man I have ever met. He has an index card system which keeps a note of every idea and theme, and he can find the page of every book he was reading when the theme came up or the thought occurred to him. He showed me one day how it all worked, how he can look up any subject and be reminded of all the ways his ideas were shaped. And he was doing it all before the days of computers. And yet here we are. Two people who have lived in the same house doing the same job. God used Jock’s great organisation and my chaos. He uses them to do the same thing in the way which works best for us. Whatever you have, whatever you are, however

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you work, whatever your style, ability, adaptability, or rigidity. Whatever and whoever you are, God wants you to offer it to him so that he can put it to work for him. We are called to be faithful. We are called to be kind and loving and caring. Whatever we have to offer, God will find a way to work his providence out of it.

Rev Alec Shuttleworth

Saline Guild Update

Our first meeting of the New Year was the ‘Guild Big Quiz’. Three teams were set questions by quiz master Stewart Miller and a night of fun and laughter was had by all. At the end of January we had a good turnout to hear Peter and Ann Dreyer talk about Namibia. They showed some beautiful slides of their native country, giving us a great insight to the geography,

wildlife and fauna, the people and economics of the country. We also heard about their work with aids orphans who were fostered by local families. Peter and Ann have organised fund-raising and made regular visits over the years, taking local gap year students to work with the orphans, supporting these children who are now young adults, some going to university while others are in employment. In February, twelve members joined Kincardine and Tulliallan Guild to hear their speaker, Dr Simon Taylor, talk about St Serf’s Way, a proposed new pilgrim way to link the Fife Pilgrim Way and the Three Saints Way from Culross through Clackmannanshire to Dunning. Our next meetings are as follows – Monday 24th February: Minister’s journey Monday 9th March: World Day of Prayer Monday 23rd March: Fundraiser for Projects – Boys Brigade Everyone is welcome to join us at 7.30 pm on above evenings.

Margaret Graham

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Sunday Club

The Sunday Club will be following a booklet called ‘#LiveLent: Care for God’s Creation’ in the lead up to Easter. This 40 Day Challenge provides an opportunity for children and adults to come together to meet with God and rejoice in the beauty of his creation. Activities are based around learning more about our planet and building habits to protect and honour the earth. This Lent our children might consider giving up something to help the environment. This could include using less plastic, water or electricity. Lots of little things add up to make a big difference. All children are welcome at Sunday Club, which takes place during the second part of the church service every week.

Breakfast Church

Everyone enjoyed the café style Breakfast Church on Sunday 23rd February. Bacon rolls and egg rolls were served, along with tea and coffee, and cereal was available for the kids. Alec raised the subject of climate change and the Church’s moral and theological obligation to do something to combat climate change, based on the book of Genesis. The children made windmills and planted cress seeds to think about new ways to create energy and look after our plants and trees. Thank you to everyone involved in making this a success. We hope to have another Breakfast Church in the not too distant future. All are welcome to come along!

Joanna Lawrence

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Fairtrade Fortnight

During Fairtrade Fortnight (24th February to 8th March), groups all over Scotland will be taking part in raising awareness of the difference purchase of Fairtrade goods can have on the communities where the basic ingredients are grown. This year the emphasis is on chocolate - an industry worth £4 billion annually in the UK but where some of the cocoa farmers earn less than 74p a day. Where Fairtrade standards have been agreed and implemented the growers are assured of a fair price and their communities can benefit from improvements to their facilities and we are assured of receiving a high quality product. Many stores now stock goods with the Fairtrade logo, e.g. sugar, bananas, chocolate, so by purchasing them we can all play a part in promoting Fairtrade.

There will be a Traidcraft Stall in the Church Hall on Sunday 6th March at 10.30am and on Wednesday 9th

March from 10.00am to 12 noon.

Fiona Aitken

CrossReach Christmas Card Competition

Calling all budding artists! The closing date for entries to the CrossReach Christmas Card competition is Tuesday 31st March. The winner will receive a certificate and a supply of their winning design as Christmas cards. The winning entry will also be sold through the CrossReach Christmas Card and Calendar Collection 2020 catalogue and website.

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To enter, submit your original design on a sheet of paper/card no larger than A3 size to: Christmas Card Compeitition CrossReach, 47 Milton Road East Edinburgh EH15 2SR Write the name of the person who designed the card on the back, along with a contact name, address and telephone number. Remember to enclose a stamped addressed envelope if you would like your entry returned to you.

World Mission Council

Copies of the February/March ‘World Mission’ magazine are available in the Church. This issue contains more about Fairtrade as well as information about changes which will affect the World Mission department in the Church offices.

Thank you to all who continue to collect their used stamps for use by World Mission Projects.

The current project is the Woman’s Development Centre in Kandy, Sri Lanka which supports women and girls who have survived rape or sexual violence. The WDC was started by the wife of a minister in the Scots Kirk in response to girls rejected by their families and has developed into a place providing education and learning skills that will allow many girls to make an independent living.

Please cut stamps from envelopes and put in the receptacles on the Hall vestibule notice board or on the table at the back of the church. They are collected at a Presbytery meeting and prepared for sale.

Fiona Aitken

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Walking Group

Walking has been more limited than usual during recent months because of the seasonal holiday and postponement of some walks due to stormy weather. However the mystery heritage walk went ahead in December when we travelled to Edinburgh. Starting with Old College, Helen Houston took us on a fascinating tour on the theme of the Scottish Enlightenment.

In early January we had hoped to walk a circuit via the paths west of Oakley Road through Big Wood and via Kinneddar Park, Cowstrandburn and Bandrum. However the paths in parts of that route were deemed unsuitable, so we followed much of the Saline Heritage Trails Golf Course and Steelend-Bandrum routes, starting and finishing at the Golf Club, where we had lunch.

Later in January we did circular walks from Gartmorn Dam Visitor Centre (VC). Some chose a short option round the Dam while the scheduled walk went via Sauchie, Devon Colliery Beam Engine House, and Schaw Park to lunch stop on Gartmorn Hill with a fine view southwards. We continued via the north side of the Dam back to the VC, where we

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enjoyed après-walk refreshment at the re-opened café.

Forthcoming Walks: Saturday 14th March - Kelpies to Falkirk Wheel (return by bus) 4 miles & negligible cumulative ascent (easy) Saturday 28th March - John Muir Way Crammond to Slateford (aqueduct) 6 miles & negligible cumulative ascent (easy) Saturday 18th April - Norman’s Law from Luthrie 5 miles & 280m cumulative ascent (strenuous) Saturday 2nd May - Anstruther to Crail 5 miles & negligible cumulative ascent (easy) Saturday 16th May - Benarty Hill and the Sleeping Giant Trail 5 miles and 470m cumulative ascent (strenuous)

Saturday 30th May - Callander Crags & Bracklinn Falls 5 miles & 250m cumulative ascent (strenuous) Saturday 13th June - Water of May, Forteviot 5.5 miles and 150m cumulative ascent (intermediate) Contact Peter Philp or Stewart Miller for more details.

Fellowship Team Events

Hot off the press – the Fellowship Team are in the process of organising the following events: Sunday 12th April – Easter Breakfast Friday 24th April – Family Beetle Drive Saturday 23rd May-– Family Fun Day. Pony rides. Giant Jenga. Bouncy Castle. Face painting. Refreshments available. Sunday 21st June – Presentation Sunday & BBQ.

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Friday 18th September –Swap Shop evening. Saturday 21st November – Ceilidh, Saline Community Centre Sunday 13th December – Christmas Party.

Make a note in your calendar! More details to follow…

Small Sparks Community Grant The Small Sparks Project was set up to provide local people with an opportunity to do something new and enjoyable to make a difference in their local community and bring people together. 32 projects across the Levenmouth and NE Fife localities have now benefited from a Small Sparks grant of up to £250 to kick start their chosen activity. The project is now running in the Glenrothes and West Fife localities and applications are invited from local organisations. If you have a good idea for a new and exciting project or event that will bring people together and would like to submit an application, please contact:

Geraldine Goldie, Project Officer, Self Directed Support Team Tel: 03451 555 555 ext 444829 Email: Geraldine.Goldie@fife.gov.uk

Closing date for applications is 30th September 2020. For more information see the church noticeboards or visit www.onyourdoorstepfife.org.

Christian Aid – Dunblane Gathering

During February and March this year the Scottish Christian Aid Committee have organised a series of gatherings around the country to help keep supporters in the various churches informed of the various aspects of the work being supported. One of these gatherings, with about 50 participants, was held on Thursday 20th February in Dunblane

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Cathedral. The Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, Convener of Christian Aid opened the meeting with worship. After reading from Genesis Chapter 2, Rev Foster-Fulton focused on the situation in Kenya, illustrating the importance of dealing with the effects of climate change – a common concern of many of the partners with which we work. Recently there has been an emphasis on tree planting in Kenya. This has provided a source of shelter, heat, food, and building material as well as stabilising the soil.

The main speaker at the event illustrated the various ways humanitarian aid was given, emphasising the need to work through local groups who could assess the need and deliver help efficiently. This meant that those involved were stronger and better able to cope in the future. It is important to help

people maintain standards, make the best use of expertise and funds and plan for the future. Examples of humanitarian aid included:

Projects with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Coping with the results of destruction by rebel groups Nigeria

Rebuilding after the effects of the hurricane and climate changes in Haiti.

Importance was given to sharing knowledge of schemes which have helped in one situation so they can be tried out in another situation. The second part of the programme took the form of a Bible Study. This was shared with a group in Kenya – the African Development Services, West (ADSW) – by Skype. This highlighted that all our efforts in Christian Aid to Give, Act, and Pray, to enable justice to be done, must be rooted in Scripture. We read together from Romans 8. 18 -25, discussed several questions, then related the ideas expressed to the present situation in parts of West Kenya (unreliable rainy season has resulted in crop failure, poor grazing, and some famine conditions).

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The ADSW group spoke about the encouragement now being felt in Kenya as water conservation ideas are now being implemented with the support of the whole community.

The event closed with thanks to all taking part and the request to pass on the appreciation of the Christian Aid Organisation for all the support given by local groups. This year Christian Aid Week is Monday 10th to Sunday 16th May. Saline & Blairingone Parish Church will be holding a Christian Aid Day on Wednesday 13th May from 10.00am – 2.00pm in the Church Hall. Please come along and lend your support.

Fiona Aitken

Finance Report

2019 Accounts The Annual Accounts give an account of how we have fulfilled our charitable purpose over the year in question. As a parish church our chief purpose is to bring the light of the gospel message that God loves them to the people of our parish. The Accounts record the numerous ways in which we have been working to do that over the year. We also have to show how we have used money in the furtherance of that purpose. The 2019 Accounts, having been approved by the Trustees (i.e. the members of the Kirk Session and Congregational Board) and signed off by the Independent Examiner, are ready to be received by the congregation at the Stated Annual Meeting scheduled for 15th March.

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A copy of the Accounts will be posted on the church website and hall entrance notice board, as usual. 2020 Budget The level of offerings stabilised in 2019 after the significant decline mentioned in the 2018 Accounts. However the 2019 small increase of nearly 2% above 2018 was insufficient to avoid a deficit of over £3,000. The deficit would have been even worse had it not been for some exceptional and non-recurring transactions, in particular drawing on our Consolidated Fabric Revenue Fund account. To balance the budget while meeting the 2020 regular expenditure entirely from the General Fund would require a 14% increase in offerings. With a much more modest offerings increase, as in the budget shown below, it will be necessary to draw on money held in our Consolidated Fabric Revenue Fund account to meet a substantial part of our property-related costs (e.g. maintenance, insurance).

Ways of Offering If you wish to change the way you make your offering to either: weekly envelope or Bank standing order, speak to Stewart Miller who can help you to do this. Gift Aid In the interest of good stewardship, if you are eligible to make your offerings as Gift Aid we would encourage you to do so, as this enables the Church to claim the tax you have paid on the money from which you make your offering. As can be seen from the General Fund summary, this reclaimed tax forms an important part of our income. To be eligible to donate under a Gift Aid declaration the annual amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax that you pay has to be at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities which you support will reclaim on your donations. If having made a Gift Aid declaration your circumstances change and you are no longer eligible to use Gift Aid, then please notify Stewart Miller so that the Church does not unwittingly continue to reclaim the tax.

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2020

BUDGET

£ RECEIPTS

2019

ACTUAL

£

470 Offerings (non Gift Aid) 465

7,300 Small Donations treated as Gift Aid 7,180

21,350 Offerings with Gift Aid declaration 20,984

7,040 Tax Recov'd on Donations 6,799

150 Other Income, Donations 199

1,600 Activities for Generating Funds 1,721

20 Bank & Deposit interest 41

0 Legacies 0

800 Rental of premises exc. glebe & manse 785

50 Other Receipts 415

38,780 TOTAL RECEIPTS 38,590

PAYMENTS

0 Offering envelopes 0

24,773 Ministries & Mission requirement (net) 22,133

580 Presbytery levy 580

1,200 Minister’s travel 1,126

400 Pulpit supply (inc travel) 180

50 Staffing costs 0

500 Outreach and mission 651

350 Literature & teaching material 325

1,000 Fabric repairs & maintenance -86

570 Council Tax 550

1,900 Energy 1,826

1,000 Insurance 701

2,100 Other building costs 2,014

240 Office expenses inc. comms. 233

3,400 Music & sound 3,362

300 Printing, stationery & postage 282

300 Other expenses 693

140 Governance costs 140

38,803 TOTAL PAYMENTS 34,707

-23 3,882

-7,143

100 TRANSFER Guild > General 200

77 SURPLUS/DEFICIT(-) INC. TRANSFERS -3,061

GENERAL FUND 2019 OUTTURN & 2020 BUDGET

SURPLUS/DEFICIT(-) EXC. TRANSFERS

TRANSFER General>Restoration Devt.

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Thy Kingdom Come

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Rt Rev Colin Sinclair has sent a letter out to all Kirk congregations inviting them to take part in this year's ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ prayer initiative. The global wave of prayer will start in May and run for 11 days between the festivals of Ascension and Pentecost (21st May to 31st May). For more information visit thykingdomcom.global.

Lent Studies in Dunfermline

Study groups begin 3rd March (except St Ninian’s which begins 27th February)

‘The Shack’ Mondays, 7.30pm, Abbey Church Halls. ‘The Long Road to Heaven’ based on ‘The Way’ Mondays, 10.30am, St Andrew’s Erskine Church. Wednesday 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Erskine Church. ‘The King’s Speech’ Tuesdays 10.00am, Kingseat Church. Wednesdays, 7.30pm, Townhill Church Hall. ‘The Theory of Everything’ Wednesdays 7.00pm St Leonard’s Church. ‘Journey to the Cross’ Thursdays, 10.00am St Ninian’s Church. All are welcome. For more information visit slpc.org.uk.

An Easter Prayer

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When everything was dark and it seemed that the sun would never shine again, your love broke through. Your love was too strong, too wide, too deep for death to hold. The sparks cast by your love dance and spread and burst forth with resurrection light. Gracious God, We praise you for the light of new life made possible through Jesus. We praise you for the light of new life that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection. We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy, will live in us each day; and that we will be bearers of that light into the lives of others. Amen. Revd Michaela Youngson (www.methodist.org.uk)

I hope you enjoyed this Spring edition of the Saline & Blairingone Parish News. As the light of Spring breaks through the darkness of Winter, may we think about what we can do without, in order to conserve the planet God has given us to look after.

Please email any articles and photos for the Summer edition of the ‘Parish News’ (June – August) to joanna.lawrence77@gmail.com by Friday 22nd May 2020.